Hello friends! I really want to know what you read this year. Out of everything that crossed your path, what book has imprinted itself into your memory forever? What was the best book you read this year, and why?
long ago, when I was in Europe, I visited this magical bookshop in Bordeaux, France.
I'll admit it: I read less this year than I wanted to. There was a period of several months when I was barely reading books at all. But I just finished Savage Tongues by Azareen Van Der Vliet Oloomi and it was so beautiful, so dense and exploratory. I loved the way time was flattened and lengthened and compressed and circuitous. I remember once in my first real writing workshop being told that my writing was too "psychological" and this book made me remember how I was writing back then, really pulling apart threads and examining each one. The protagonist in this story travels with a friend to an apartment in which she lived when she was a teenager, the site of abuse for her. It's a beautiful and terrible reflection of rape, colonization, separation, and friendship.
I forgot- two more books I relished this year. The Copenhagen Trilogy by Tove Ditlevson and No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood. The former created a pathway for the latter, if you can believe it.
Basin and Range by John McPhee. Book one of a five part series on the geologic history of North America. Beautifully written. I've read lots of geology texts, but all the dog ears in this book are not for facts I want to recall, but for phases and descriptions I loved. I'm mostly done with the second, and hope to be finished before the end of the year, and then I plan to read the remaining three in 2022.
McPhee is the BEST at descriptions. He is someone I read when I feel like I am stuck in my own writing. I haven't read this but obviously need to- putting it on hold at the library. Have you read his book Oranges? So good, so fascinating. He is a masterful writer. (and thank you for joining this thread!)
I started so many books, but the only one I finished and then started again was BELLY OF THE BEAST by Da'Shaun L. Harrison. I've raved about it a lot on Twitter and StoryGraph but it is just an incredibly accessible, rich, and revolutionary text of queer fat theory and resistance. It blew my mind, introduced to me a number of new concepts, clarified for me some very central aspects to fat liberation and the concept of "health" under anti-Black white supremacy, and gave me words to further my own growth as an abolitionist.
And I was very blessed to be able to approach the text the second time with a group of other fat liberation activists and to speak with Da'Shaun in that group, which further confirmed for me some important take aways that I think will ultimately define my path as an activist for this lifetime. So, yeah... It was kind of a life-changing read.
I'll admit it: I read less this year than I wanted to. There was a period of several months when I was barely reading books at all. But I just finished Savage Tongues by Azareen Van Der Vliet Oloomi and it was so beautiful, so dense and exploratory. I loved the way time was flattened and lengthened and compressed and circuitous. I remember once in my first real writing workshop being told that my writing was too "psychological" and this book made me remember how I was writing back then, really pulling apart threads and examining each one. The protagonist in this story travels with a friend to an apartment in which she lived when she was a teenager, the site of abuse for her. It's a beautiful and terrible reflection of rape, colonization, separation, and friendship.
I forgot- two more books I relished this year. The Copenhagen Trilogy by Tove Ditlevson and No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood. The former created a pathway for the latter, if you can believe it.
Basin and Range by John McPhee. Book one of a five part series on the geologic history of North America. Beautifully written. I've read lots of geology texts, but all the dog ears in this book are not for facts I want to recall, but for phases and descriptions I loved. I'm mostly done with the second, and hope to be finished before the end of the year, and then I plan to read the remaining three in 2022.
McPhee is the BEST at descriptions. He is someone I read when I feel like I am stuck in my own writing. I haven't read this but obviously need to- putting it on hold at the library. Have you read his book Oranges? So good, so fascinating. He is a masterful writer. (and thank you for joining this thread!)
I haven't, but now I'll have to! Thanks for the recommendation.
My favourites this year:
The Year of Magical Thinking, Didion;
Gilead, Marylinne Robinson;
Autumn, Ali Smith;
I beati giorni del castigo, Fleur Jaeggy;
Piranesi, Clarke;
The 1619 Project, Nikole Hannah-Jones;
Shock Doctrine, Klein;
Invisible Women, Pérez Criado
(Only when writing I realised that they are all written by women)
I started so many books, but the only one I finished and then started again was BELLY OF THE BEAST by Da'Shaun L. Harrison. I've raved about it a lot on Twitter and StoryGraph but it is just an incredibly accessible, rich, and revolutionary text of queer fat theory and resistance. It blew my mind, introduced to me a number of new concepts, clarified for me some very central aspects to fat liberation and the concept of "health" under anti-Black white supremacy, and gave me words to further my own growth as an abolitionist.
And I was very blessed to be able to approach the text the second time with a group of other fat liberation activists and to speak with Da'Shaun in that group, which further confirmed for me some important take aways that I think will ultimately define my path as an activist for this lifetime. So, yeah... It was kind of a life-changing read.
This books sounds like something I need to read. Thank you so much and I just put it on hold at the library!